A Mother's Care
by Mari Iaceo
Summary: If 'Kyoko' could become a renowned actress in less than two years, where would she be with years of acting experience?  \The hated\ Mogami Saena bets on the top.
1. Prologue: Discovery

"Stop copying me!" Her boyish, blond companion pouted sulkily.

"Stop copying me!" Her face was a perfect mimicry. The expressions on both of the children would have tugged the heartstrings of any other woman. Saena merely, impassively, watched.

"I'm not talking to you anymore!" exclaimed the pair in unison. Each turned abruptly so that they stood back-to-back with small frowns, with crossed arms. Just as quickly, the children spun on the spot, pulling down the skin under one eye, sticking out their tongues.

Finally, the boy quirked his lips in irritation. "Let's play some other game."

Saena could taste the words _'you always win at this'_ in the air.

The girl smiled in response. "Okay."

She made a decision. "Good evening Kyoko, Shou."

"Good evening," replied her daughter, properly bowing. Saena's eyes glinted as she wondered who taught her such _etiquette_…the okami. _Stupid woman. _Her daughter didn't need to be any more subservient to others.

Kyoko subtly nudged her friend with an elbow. He grumbled at her, but grudgingly completed the greetings. _Little brat._

Crouching down to their level, she asked, "Kyoko, do you like copying Shou?"

The girl brightened instantly. Saena slowly smiled in response, savoring her soon-to-be glory.


	2. Classes

_Acting classes are rather expensive_. Saena mused as she browsed through catalogues, taking stock of the child models littering the pages. 40,000 yen made up almost half of her monthly living expenses.

_Would it be worth the cost? _

With a snap decision, Saena promptly arranged the magazines in perfect formation for future viewers. She then politely told her boss that she would be taking a much longer lunch break than usual.

* * *

><p>"Shou, Shou! Look at this." Kyoko's golden eyes sparkled, watching the butterfly perched on her arm.<p>

The boy took a bite of his stew before disinterestedly commenting, "It's an insect."

"A very pretty one!" She stared imploringly at her friend, wishing he would agree. "See her wings? I want to fly too." Kyoko waved her arms in imitation before suddenly gasping in dismay.

Shou, though inwardly complaining that he could never eat in peace, asked, "What happened?"

The girl turned towards him, blinking back large tears. "The fairy flew away."

Shou almost questioned "Who?" before remembering that this was _Kyoko_, who still believed in magic—even though they were in the _first_ grade already. Instead, he replied, "She probably had to go to a fairy ball tonight."

Kyoko sniffled.

Shou waited.

"Re—really? You think so?" came her childish cry of delight. After the boy nodded, Kyoko resumed her original expression of glee, happily sitting by him again. Satisfied, Shou turned back to his food, before noting, "Where's your lunch?"

"Eh?"

"Do you have one?"

She stumbled around, searching for an answer. "Not exactly…"

_Why not? Don't we all get the same food?_ Outwardly, Shou only slightly scowled before pushing the remainder of his meal towards her. "I'm not hungry anymore."

Immediately, her eyes began glistening again. "Thank you so much, Shou, but—"

Their teacher, who usually abandoned the classroom for lunch, abruptly called out, "Mogami Kyoko, please come forward."

With worry clearly evident on her face, the girl followed the teacher out the door. Shou barely heard his other instruction—_to close the window, weren't they all cold?_—as he glared at his whispering classmates. Many of them giggled fondly at his expression. Automatically, he reached out to close the window, noticing the still fluttering butterfly too late.

* * *

><p>Outside the classroom, Kyoko was surprised to see her mother waiting calmly. Saena, however, merely smiled at the strangely blushing teacher as she pulled her daughter toward the exit.<p> 


	3. Geisha, part 1

Skin as white as snow. Hair as dark as night. Lovely, elaborate kimono. _They must be princesses!_ Kyoko's heart spun with joy, watching the beautiful young women perform onstage. Each carried a branch of sakura in one hand, a fan in the other, as they simultaneously swept into motion.

Saena looked at her daughter's euphoric expression in satisfaction before bending slightly to whisper in her ear. "Watch them Kyoko, don't be enthralled by their mere beauty. Look for the story that they tell us."

Briefly, the child's golden eyes stared into her own dark depths. Saena's gaze never wavered, never wandered from the face of her child, who now solemnly observed the proceedings.

* * *

><p>"Oy, kid."<p>

Kyoko blinked rapidly, then shook her head to remove her fantasies of dancing fairy princesses. She turned to find the owner of the voice in the side aisle of the theater. There, in a bright blue kimono reminiscent of the geisha performers' own costumes, stood an older female with a scowl on her face. Kyoko shrank back into her comfy seat. _She looks like a scary princess. _

The teen sighed after seeing the tiny child cower in fear, and put on a bright smile. Gently sweeping the hair from the girl's eyes, she murmured, "Ah, you're Kyoko-chan, right? My name's Mayu."

Relieved at seeing the beatific visage, Kyoko peeked up at her. "…Mayu hime-sama, where's my mother?"

"She's speaking to Masaru-san, the assistant director, backstage," calmly answered Mayu. _What did she call me?_ Slightly perplexed, she glanced at Kyoko who was staring reverently at her. _Might as well play along._ "Actually, Kyoko-chan, you should call me 'ojou-sama' because_ I_ am the _Queen_'s daughter."

"Uwah! Really?"

Mayu allowed herself a wide grin behind her hand. "Yes, my mother is Mametomi—the one leading the maiko geisha in today's preview." At the child's blank face, she continued, "The tiny, regal woman with the most graceful posture?"

At once, Kyoko's eyes lit up in recognition. "The Queen is the prettiest one!" Then, shyly, "…can I meet her?"

Tilting her head in a show of uncertainty, Mayu covered her smile once more. "I don't know, she might be busy right now. Instructing apprentices to properly dance takes time." The teen muttered under her breath, "Especially_ these _maiko."

"Please, please, please!" The golden-eyed child continued pleading until Mayu responded positively. Both grinned happily, hand-in-hand, as they made their way backstage.


	4. Geisha, part 2

His office was tiny, musty and dark. Yet Saena somehow succeeded at hiding her disgust with a sardonic smile. "Excellent choreography, Masaru-san. The _performers_, however…were lacking. Such unexpressive maiko."

His dark, steely gaze provoked her. "Perhaps I can convince the Princess to take the stage once more."

"Oh, Mametomi?" Saena asked, deliberately running her finger down piles of old scripts. "She would be more of a … Queen, wouldn't you say?"

"You know who I mean."

She stilled for several seconds, slowly meeting his eyes. "I didn't come here to discuss _that_.

"Ah, then why did you accept my invitation_ this_ year?" For a moment, those dark eyes were his father's eyes, challenging her. As if he had even a tenth of_ his_ skill.

"The main _director_ mentioned a visit by one of Japan's greatest actors."

"As if you care." He frowned, inadvertently relaxing his stance.

"As always." Saena smiled brilliantly. "Are you planning any Western plays?"

* * *

><p>"And how did the infamous Hozu Shuuhei enjoy our little performance?" The arch of Mametomi's left brow increasingly grew as she took in the view of the trio. Mayu then knew that it was a bad time to talk to her mother. It always seemed to be a bad time whenever <em>they<em> visited.

She could understand why.

Quickly, she placed an index finger to her lips, took the child's left hand in her own, and tugged her away—too late. The blond-haired boy accompanying his parents had already allowed his gaze to wander. He smiled brilliantly at them while Mayu internally muttered expletives.

Luckily, the boy was caught by some lingering maiko, who had been lazily watching the proceedings rather than practicing their dance. Although she normally would have disparaged their actions, Mayu instead praised kami for the distraction. She was_ not_ going to share the adorable child who thought she—Mayu, of all people!—was a princess, with _him_. He had enough people gushing over him anyways.

At least they agreed on that.

"Where…are…we going…Mayu-ojou-sama?"

Concerned, Mayu turned to find the child breathing heavily. "Kyoko-chan, next time you're tired, tell me so I won't go so fast. Understand?"

Kyoko nodded. "Yes, ojou-sama!"

"Good," replied Mayu as she searched for clues to discover their location. Her dark green eyes locked onto a nearby door. "How about we watch past videos of the Miyako Odori practices—the ones with the young Queen?"


End file.
